Ethanol is wildy bad for the environment and is raising the cost of food.
I read somewhere awhile back that it takes something like 3 gallons of gasoline (through running farm equipment and transportation) to make 4 gallons of ethanol. That coupled with ethanol being less efficient that gasoline and causes more wear and rear on vehicles probably means that if we ditched it altogether we'd probably the same carbon emissions wise.
Also, for every acre of corn raised to go into ethanol, that's one acre not going into feed corn or other food crops so we're effectively raising the cost of food via limiting supply and competition.
The only people that benefit are farmers that recieve substantial subsidies to grow it and government personnel who administer said subsidies and elected officials that campaign on taking money from you the tax payer and funneling it into these programs.
The cost to all of us is diffused, probably no more than a few tens of dollars taken from us via taxes so nobody is gonna go stand up to these people and demand that we end this subsidy. The benefit to them is very focused and large so they have every interest to keep the cash flowing their way. Every interest to take money from all classes of people but most damaging to the poorest of people since those dollars mean more to them than richer peoples.
This wildest part is that you who is reading this right now is probably outraged that this program is in place but the even crazier part is that you can substitute this with practically any and all industries and they are all doing the exact same thing but for the things that you agree with, are perfectly fine with keeping those subsidies flowing. After all, it's only the other people that are greedy. The only real solution is to completely end all federal subsidies but I'm sure you'll disagree and say that XYZ is necessary because it's your special interest.
By this logic because there is infinite time and infinite possibilities, we could develop a cure or a virus that kills this prion and avert this crisis. We could also not and just die. Then there is a possibility that none of this exists and this is a simulation and the developers haven't added this as a feature yet.
Eleven years ago, two days before Christmas, my 24-year-old brother, who was a university graduate and former law student, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. After a decade of hard and continuous drinking interspersed with addiction and mental health treatment, he could not sustain his recovery. His suicide came on the...
If there was a true civil war the military would probably be divided with some on one side and some on the other but I really doubt there will be a civil war any time in the near future.
The proposed rule, aimed at reducing exposure to a potent neurotoxin, would require water systems nationwide to replace lead pipes that carry tap water to homes, schools and offices
Rent Control can only have one outcome. Decreased amount of available new or renovated rentals which coupled with an ever increasing demand for housing, creates some of the housing shortages we see in larger cities today.
UBI can be an effective way to fight poverty, and would be an even more effective way to combat poverty if we implemented a Negative Income tax whereby all welfare programs are rolled into the funding.
And how did that work out for the estimated 15-55 million people that died of starvation as a result of the "equitable distribution of land ownership"?
New York Acting Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Moyne rejected a bid by Uber, DoorDash and Grubhub to block a bill requiring a minimum wage for app-based delivery workers.
Social Security is one of the greatest scams of all time.
Generally speaking, this is how it works
Lower Income families pay into it longer (didn't go to college, have to get a job and start getting taxed at 18 vs. going to college and started to be taxed at say 22)
Lower Income families receive benefits for less time (pretty much all statistics show that the wealthier you are, the longer you live)
Lower income families pay a higher percentage of their income than wealthier families. (Social Security only on the first ~$130K in income. It's a regressive tax)
Lower income families are paid out less in benefits. You get paid out based on what you pay in.
Wealthier families typically have other passive forms of income that are not subject to the Social Security tax, this means that if they get to keep this income stream going into retirement they are at a massive advantage over lower income families who if they have to work a job in retirement that again have to pay Social Security taxes on wages they earn.
In addition to all of this, upon death of both the primary and spouse, all the money taken vanishes and cannot be passed down to their children or beneficiaries which only compounds wealth inequality.
In short, Social Security is a regressive tax that unfairly penalizes the poor and provides a higher welfare pay out to families that are wealthier.
The family of a man fatally shot in New Mexico by police officers responding to the wrong house sued the department for wrongful death and other claims in federal court, according to a complaint filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court of New Mexico....
This is why police need to be required by law to have occupational insurance.
That way even if they are found to be not guilty through qualified immunity or whatever BS, no insurance company would insure them, which means they couldn't work as a cop anywhere.
Intelligence is not the same as Wisdom. People often conflate the two and "AI" as it exists today is equivalent to a 3 year olds level of wisdom and a 40 year olds level of intelligence. It has access to vast amounts of facts and data but is completely unable to actually "understand" context and meaning.
Just making sure I’m in the right place. I cannot see any developed communities here so I’ve started wondering, what’s the real place everyone from Reddit has moved to? I’ve heard something about Discuit, but never tried it.
New Doomsday Clock just dropped (lemmy.world)
Just saw this while getting gas. Why is it illegal to get less than 4 gallons? (lemmy.world)
If a universal basic income started today with the stipulation that you had to put 40 hrs/wk towards making the world a better place or solving societal problems, how would you spend your time?
Brought to you by Carl's Jr. (lemmy.world)
Your username has suddenly become your only means of staying alive. How bad is it?
Tampa man wrongfully imprisoned for nearly four decades to receive $14m (www.theguardian.com)
Robert DuBoise, sentenced over a 1983 rape and murder he did not commit, says he hopes others in his position now ‘get justice’...
Imagine that the world is set to devolve the way it is described in the movie Idiocracy. What predictions do you see for that future?
‘Zombie deer disease’ epidemic spreads in Yellowstone as scientists raise fears it may jump to humans (www.theguardian.com)
The U.S. must raise federal alcohol taxes to address the alarming rise in alcohol use (www.statnews.com)
Eleven years ago, two days before Christmas, my 24-year-old brother, who was a university graduate and former law student, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. After a decade of hard and continuous drinking interspersed with addiction and mental health treatment, he could not sustain his recovery. His suicide came on the...
While everyone is watching the world stage and some are predicting WWIII, isn't there a good chance that the USA is getting close to some kind of civil war?
All the ingredients are there and it won’t take much to put it all together.
Don't know if you guys like history memes (lemmy.zip)
To protect kids, EPA wants total removal of lead pipes for the first time (wapo.st)
The proposed rule, aimed at reducing exposure to a potent neurotoxin, would require water systems nationwide to replace lead pipes that carry tap water to homes, schools and offices
Which heightened/different senses of other animals would you most like to experience (while still being human)?
Of the senses we’re familiar with or aware of, anyway, e.g. taste/smell/hearing/vision/touch.
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Child's skeleton found padlocked to 17th century grave in Poland to 'stop vampire rising from the dead' (news.sky.com)
What games do you think should NEVER be remastered, because they're close to perfect as they are?
Any games where a remaster could never stack up to the original....
UBI Cash Payments Reduced Homelessness, Increased Employment in Denver (www.businessinsider.com)
Don't be fooled Billy, it's not really a job, more of a parasitic relationship (lemmy.world)
Uber, Grubhub and DoorDash must pay NYC delivery workers an $18 minimum wage (www.engadget.com)
New York Acting Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Moyne rejected a bid by Uber, DoorDash and Grubhub to block a bill requiring a minimum wage for app-based delivery workers.
Inequality, Not Birthrates, Strains Social Security (www.stoppopulationdecline.org)
Family of man killed by police responding to wrong house in New Mexico files lawsuit (www.cbsnews.com)
The family of a man fatally shot in New Mexico by police officers responding to the wrong house sued the department for wrongful death and other claims in federal court, according to a complaint filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court of New Mexico....
Microsoft Publishes Garbled AI Article Calling Tragically Deceased NBA Player "Useless" (futurism.com)
Where are all of the reddit refugees these days?
Just making sure I’m in the right place. I cannot see any developed communities here so I’ve started wondering, what’s the real place everyone from Reddit has moved to? I’ve heard something about Discuit, but never tried it.